Immersion-heater.



W. S. HADAWAY, JR.

IMMERSION HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.2B, 1913. RENEWED AUG. 6, 1915.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET l.

WITNE88E8 I ATTORNEY W. S. HADAWAY, JR.

IMMERSION HEATER. APPLICATION FILED JAN.28.1913- RENEWED AUG. 6. 1915.

Patented Mar. 12, 1918.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES W. S. HADAWAY, JR.

IMMERSION HEATER. APPLICATJON FILED JAN.28. 1913. RENEWED AUG- fi, 19l5.

Patented Mar 12, 1918 3 'SHEETS--$HEET 3- IN VE N TOE WITNESSES /Q 6.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE- WILLIAM S. HADAWAY, JR., 015 NEW ROCHELLE,NEW YORK.

IMMERSIONi-HEATER.

Application filed January 28, 1913, Serial No. 744,725.

1 '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM S. HADAWAY, Jr., a citizen of the' UnitedStates, residing at New Rochelle, in the county of Westchester and Stateof New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Immersion-Heaters, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming apart of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in electric immersion heaters.

Attempts have been made heretofore to construct immersion heaters byinclosing a resistor in a watertight jacket or tube from which it issuitably insulated, and contracting the jacket about the resistor bydrawing, bending or SWaging the tube to cause it to bind the resistortightly, thereby maintaining the walls of the tube in close thermalconducting relation therewith. In such constructions the resistorbecomes substantially a permanent part of the heater as .a whole andcannot be replaced if defects develop,

without almost destroying the water tight casing, or doing great damageto the structure of which the heater forms a part, or to which it isattached. Furthermore, the resistors used heretofore have requiredspecial protection and the water tight jackets therefore have beendesigned with a view to reinforcing and protecting said resistors. Inaddition, heaters of different capacities have had to be speciallyconstructed for the various purposes for which they were intended, andonce constructed were rendered practi cally useless by the failure ofany one of the several resistors of which they were composed. 7

One object of this invention is to provide an improved immersion heater.

Another object is to provide an immersion heater having a heater unitwhich is readily removable.

Another object is to provide an immersion heater having a. plurality ofheater units all of which are independently removable andinterchangeable.

Another object is to provide an immersion heater having a heater unitwhich is reinforced mechanically so that the heater may be kept in stockand handled without special precautions and which may be readily posi-Specification of Letters Patent.

Renewed August 6, 1915. Serial No. 44,120.

tioned in and removed from the immersion heater without injury.

Another object is to provide an immersion heater having a heating unitwhich is mechanically and electrically complete in itself and requiresno further insulation when it is inserted in the casing of the immersionheater.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a number of immersionheaters which embody the various features of my invention. Other formsmay, of course, be devised which fall within the scope of the invention.

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of an immersion heater consisting of asingle heating unit properly incased;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of a heating unit with parts broken away todisclose the construction;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged Sectional elevation ,thereof Fig. 4 is a sectionalelevation of a two unit heater;

Patented Mar. 12, 1918;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of said heater;

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation of the casing of a three unit heater;

Fig. 7 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation of a four} unit heater; I

Fig. 9 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 10 is a sectional elevation of a six unit heater;

Fig. 11 is an end elevation thereof;

Fig. 12-is a sectional elevation of an eight unit heater;

Fig. 13 is an end elevation, thereof;

Fig. 1.4: is a sectional elevation of a two unit heater of adifierentform than that previously referred to;

Fig. 15 is a sectional elevation of a four unit heater of modifiedconstruction;

Fig. 16 is a side elevation of the heating units Fig. 17 is a sectionalelevation on the line 1717 of Fig. 15, with the resistance units removedFig. 18 is a sectional elevation on the line 18-18 of Fig. 15;

One of the main underlying structural.

features common to all of the figures described above is the prov sionof electric heating units of standard SlZe and construction, andsuitable water tight containers or "toterminals adapted to connect theresistors to an external circuit.

In Fig. a single container 1, is shown, within wlnch fits a singleheatin unit.

the container readily without binding. Said unit fits loosely enough topermit insertion and withdrawal thereof, while at the same time it isclose enough to the wall of the container to insure rapid heatconduction thereto with but slight temperature drop or loss of heatpotential. With a construction such Said unit consists in the. preferredorm of r a sheet metal channel 2 having flanges 3, which are bent overto embrace between themselves and the base of the channel a suitableresistor and the necessary insulation therefor. In the presentconstruction said resistor consists of a thin flat slotted ribbon 4which is preferably doubled over upon itself so that its opposite endsmay be'brought out and rolled over to form adjacent terminals 5. Theadjacent folds of the ribbon are insulated from each other preferably bya strip or strips of sheet micafi, said folds being further insulatedfrom the inclosing walls of the metal channel by further strips of mica7 and 8, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

A strip of metal 9 acts as a cover plate and is held in place by thebent over flanges 3. Although in the present instance the resistorribbon is doubledover upon itself, it is apparent of course that twoindependent ribbons may be employed, electrically connected at 1one end,their other ends serving as termina s.

This sheet metal channel 2 serves to reinforce and stiffen the resistorwhereby it may be readily slipped into the container 1. Furthermore thesaid channel serves to properly position the resistor with respect toits insulation and compresses the various layers into a very smallspace, whereby the metal of the channel is in close thermal re lationwith said resistor. V

The upper end of the container 1 is enlarged to form a suitable head 10.This head is provided with a cap orclosure 11,

the latter being preferably integrally united thereto to form a watertight inclosure.

as described the heating units may be made up in standard sizes and keptin stock,.the metal channel affording ample protection to the resistorwhereby no special precautions are required in handling or storing saidunits. Similarly the containers may be kept in stock and a heater suchas shown in Fig. 1 may be readily asembled at any time in the mannerpreviously described. Furthermore if the heating unit should developdefects for any reason, said unit may be readily replaced b simplyremoving the cap 11 and making t c necesary substitution of a new unit.Said cap is preferably brazed or silver soldered'to the enlarged head 10of the container 1, and accordingly m: be removed therefrom whendesired. l leating units of this form are adapted for use as preheaterson automobiles or elsewhere, where it is desired to vaporize gasolenc.

They may also be used in many other ways. The heater shown in Fig. 4 ismade up of two containers 15, each of which is integrally united to aflanged cap 16, the latter being integrally united to and closing theend of a cylindrical head 17 The outer end of said head is closed by acap having mica washers similar to those previously described saidwashers carrying circuit terminals, which are connected to the heatingunits received within the containers. In this figure the same referencecharacters have been employed as in Figs. 1 and 2 to indicatecorresponding parts, and accordingly further description is unnecesary.It will be noted, however, that there are two containers, each ofstandard internal dimensions whereby either heating unit may be Suitablecircuit terminals 12 are carried by 7 said closure 11, beingelectrically insulated therefrom by mica washers 13 and liarranged onopposite sides of an opening in the end of said closure, said terminalspassing through said opening and being supported by the mica out ofcontact with said closure. The terminal extensions 5 of the resistorribbon, are received within the terminal tubes 12 andare preferablysilver soldered therein. In the manufacture of the container 1, ametallic tube of approximately the desired internal dimensions isconstructed, said tube being then broached out by a suitable tool so asto insure a cross sectional area of standard dimensions, said crosssection be' just sufiicient to rmit one of the heating units to heslipped into readily =replaced if found defective without disturbing theother unit, or without substantial injury to the device as a whole. Theelongated head 17 permits the heater to be immersed in a liquid in suchposition that the liquid to be heated is removed some distance from thecircuit terminals. The heater may be used in any position of course,althoughjt is intended more .for use in a vertical or nearly verticalposition.

The heater shown in Figs. 6 and 7 is made up of threecontainers 15united to a common header in a manner similar to that previouslydescribed. A heater so constructed is of greater capacity of course thanone having either one or two heating units of the same individualcapacity.

In Figs. 8 to 12 inclusive, Ihave illustrated furthe forms of immersionheaters wherein 4, 6 and S units respectively are employed. Thecontainers 15 in these figures are arranged radially instead of side byside and parallel and the capacity thereof of course increases with thenumber of units employed.

-In Fig. 14 I have illustrated a further form of immersion heaterwherein the containers 15 instead of projecting from and beyond the headextend back toward the terminals. Said containers project from acircular head 18 which is in open communication with an elongated tubelS) of reduced diameter, communicating with a second head 20, the latterhaving a cap carrying the circuit terminals in a manner similar to thatpreviously described.

In Figs. 15 to 18 inclusive I have shown a water heater wherein aplurality of containers 15 are supported by a metal washer 21, thelatter being clamped between two rings 22 and 23, suitable gaskets 24being interposed between said washer and said rings. The liquid to beheated enters through the lower opening 25 and passing through thechamber 26, is heated prior to making its exit through the opening 27 inthe cap 28. A drain cock 29 is also provided.

The ends of the resistor ribbons are brought out of the open ends of thecontainers 15 and are suitably clamped as shown in Figs. 16 and 18to'jumpers 30, whereby the circuit connections may be changed at will,the circuit terminals 31 being spaced apart a convenient distance tofacilitate the connecting thereto of conductors. The said terminals aresuitably inclosed in a removable casing 32 as shown.

Immersion heaters such as described above are adapted for a wide rangeof use. For

example: they may be used to heat water or oil, to melt glue, paraffinor wax, to generate steam, to warm milk, or to use in sterilizers, etc.

With allof the above forms of device described any heating unit may bereplaced readily. Furthermorea heater of any desired capacity may bereadily assembled by simply designing a suitable head to which thedesired number of containers may be secured.

Although in the "arious forms illustrated, I have shown nothing butstraight containers, I do not limit myself to this construction, as itis apparent that both the con vtainer and the unit may be curved to thesame radius, and said unit thereafter slipped lnto said container 111the same manner as if these elements were straight, the essentialfeature in regard to this phase of the invention being that the unit andits container shall have a' sliding fit whereby they may be readilyassembled, and the unit may be readily replaced, if necessary.

It is to be understood of course that the invention is not limited tothe particular embodiments thereof described above as various otherforms may be devised which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

\Vhat I claim as new and-desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States is 2 1. An immersion heater comprising a portable,self-contained unitary structure consisting of a water tight, heatconducting .jacket. a metal sheath having a sliding fit within saidjacket and a resistor 'incased within said sheath and insulatedtherefrom, said sheath, resistor and insulation being pressed firmlytogether to form a compact heating unit, whereby the heat is transferredfrom said resistor to the outer surface of said jacket with a minimumdrop of heat potential.

2. An immersion heater comprising a plurality of containers of thesameinternal dimensions, a suitable head with which the open ends of saidcontainers communicate, and a resistor unit fitting within eachcontainer, the entire structure being Water tight.

3. In an immersion heater, a sheet metal container open atone end, aresistor unit having a sliding fit within 'said container, a headcommunicating with the open end of said containers, circuit terminalscarried by said head and insulated therefrom, and electrical connectionsbetween said circuit terminals and said unit.

t. An immersion heater comprising a heating unit, a water-tightinclosing casing therefor, a cap for one end of said casin and circuitterminals carried by said cap, said terminals being insulated therefromand electrically connected to said heating unit.

5. An immersion heater comprising a heating unit and a water-tightjacket therefor within which said unit has a sliding fit, said unitcomprising a sheet metal channel, a cover plate held in place by thebent over flanges of said channel, a resistor held between said channeland said cover plate, and insulation on opposite sides of said resistor.

6. An electric heater comprising a slotted ribbon doubled upon itself tobring its opposite ends adjacent to each other, insulation between saidfolds, a sheet metal inclosure for stifiening said ribbon, insulationbetween said ribbon and said inclosure and a container closed at one endwithin which the above parts are located, said adjacent ribbon endspassing out through the other end of said container.

7. In an immersion heater, a heating unit comprising a resistor, acarrier therefor, and means for insulating said resistor from saidcarrier, said resistor having connections from its opposite ends toadjacent terminals located at one end thereof, and a watertightinclosing acket for said unit, said terminals being carried by one endof said jacket. and insulated therefrom.

- 8. In an immersion heater, a header, circuit terminals carriedthereby, a plurality of similar tubes communicating at one end with saidheader and closed at the opposite at one end and having its open endintegrally united to said supporting element,

whereby a Water tight construction is provided, a thin compact metalincased heating unit having a cross section similar to that of saidtubular container, whereby it may have a sliding lit-within saidcontainer, with its outer walls in close heat conducting relationthereto and terminals for said heating unit located at one end thereof,to provide for circuit connections exterior to said container.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presenceof two witnesses.

WILLIAM S. HADAWAY, JR. Witnesses:

STANTON O. FINCH, GEO. B. JONES.

